Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/01—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents
  • B60R21/013—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/01—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents
  • B60R21/013—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
  • B60R2021/01306—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over monitoring vehicle inclination
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/01—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents
  • B60R21/013—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
  • B60R21/0132—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over responsive to vehicle motion parameters, e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value
  • B60R2021/01327—Angular velocity or angular acceleration

Definitions

• the invention relates to a device and a method for triggering an occupant protection system in the event of a vehicle rollover.
• vehicle rollover here includes both an impending and an actually occurring vehicle rollover.
• Occupant protection systems that can be activated in the event of a vehicle rollover include, for example, passive restraint systems such as a head airbag, a side airbag, a belt tensioner system, a belt clamp system and / or a foldable roll bar.
• passive restraint systems such as a head airbag, a side airbag, a belt tensioner system, a belt clamp system and / or a foldable roll bar.
• occupant protection can also be increased by using systems which can be activated during and after an accident (post-crash systems), which include generating an emergency signal, opening the central locking system, switching on the hazard warning system and / or switching off the fuel pump.
• Occupant protection system e.g. during extreme cornering. Correct, early activation of the occupant protection system is not guaranteed in all accident situations.
• An occupant protection system is known from EP 0 430 813 B1 which comprises a gyrometer and three accelerometers which determine the longitudinal, lateral and vertical acceleration of the motor vehicle.
• the triggering device of the occupant protection system is activated when either the combined longitudinal and lateral acceleration exceeds a predefined threshold value or the gyrometer output signal lies above a certain threshold or the gyrometer output signal integrated over a predefined time interval exceeds a certain threshold.
• the gyrometer output signal is not related to a fixed spatial coordinate system and therefore does not allow a firm conclusion to be drawn about the actual motor vehicle inclination angle, based on the horizontal plane. The determination of the trigger thresholds presents certain difficulties.
• the invention has for its object to provide a device and a method for triggering a motor vehicle occupant protection system that enables reliable triggering of the occupant protection system in the event of a vehicle rollover.
• a rotation rate sensor which detects the speed of a motor vehicle rotational movement about the longitudinal axis of the motor vehicle, is inserted together with an inclination sensor. 3 sets.
• starting vehicle rollovers can be sensed at an early stage.
• An upcoming rollover can be recognized very quickly, since the rotational speed measured by the rotation rate sensor provides such a statement at a sufficiently early point in time.
• the occupant protection system is only triggered when the inclination sensor signals a suspected (absolute) inclined position of the motor vehicle. Since the beginning of the rollover was already recognized by the yaw rate sensor, the activation of the occupant protection system can then take place almost instantaneously when the inclination sensor responds.
• the tilt sensor thus serves as a safing sensor. Depending on the accident situation, however, the inclination sensor may have responded first, so that the occupant protection system is triggered immediately if the rotation rate sensor now also responds.
• the rotation rate sensor can be based on the measuring principle of utilizing the Coriolis force, which acts on moving bodies in a rotating reference system.
• the gravitational force of the earth is preferably used.
• the inclination sensor can detect the inclination uniaxially around the vehicle's longitudinal axis or omnidirectionally in the vehicle plane.
• the trigger signals generated by the yaw rate sensor and inclination sensor are combined to a certain extent in the form of an AND link, so that the occupant protection system is ignited only when both conditions are met.
• the inclination sensor at least roughly indicates the absolute angular position of the vehicle, it is in an advantageous embodiment 4 of the invention possible to prevent triggering of the occupant protection system when the motor vehicle tilts back from the vertical or roof position or lateral position of the vehicle into the normal position. If the occupant protection system did not respond to the vehicle tipping over for any reason, for example due to an extremely slow vehicle overturning or because of a deliberate tilting (eg extreme jacking up in a workshop) when the ignition is switched off, the risk may arise. that if the motor vehicle were to be tipped back into the normal position by the accident persons or rescue persons involved, the occupant protection system would be triggered, for example the roll bar would suddenly be folded up. This poses a danger to the people on or in the vehicle.
• a deliberate tilting eg extreme jacking up in a workshop
• This danger can be avoided by using the inclination sensor to block a trigger signal.
• this can be achieved in a simple manner in that if the inclination sensor signal signals a tilt position of the motor vehicle which is above a predetermined threshold value for a longer period of time, triggering of the occupant protection system is also blocked if the output signal of the rotation rate sensor subsequently detects the Should signal the start of a turn.
• the output signal of the rotation rate sensor had temporarily dropped to zero, this represents a reliable criterion for a roof or side position that has been assumed to be stable in the meantime, that is to say for a steady state.
• the rotation rate sensor output signal is below a predetermined, low threshold value at least for a certain short time interval, can be used by the control device to block a subsequent triggering of the occupant protection system.
• the inclination sensor is preferably designed as an inclination switch which, instead of an analog signal which requires further evaluation, only emits a "digital" signal "on / off” which is particularly easy to detect by the triggering device or evaluation circuit and does not require any further processing.
• the tilt switch can also each have its own switching signal output for the two opposite directions of inclination that it senses, so that it not only indicates that a certain inclination limit value has been exceeded, but also the tilt direction.
• the evaluation circuit can therefore also recognize the tilt direction of the yaw rate sensor and inclination sensor, and thus of the motor vehicle, via its algorithm.
• the invention can not only be used in newly designed occupant protection systems, but can also be retrofitted to existing systems, for example airbag systems, by installing a rotation rate sensor with an inclination sensor and loading the corresponding evaluation and triggering routines.
• Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of an occupant protection system equipped according to the invention
• Fig. 2 shows another embodiment of the device according to the invention.
• the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 comprises a rotation rate sensor 1, which measures the speed of a rotational movement of the motor vehicle about the longitudinal axis of the motor vehicle and is formed, for example, by an electronic gyrometer sensor, and an inclination sensor 2, which the absolute angular position of the motor vehicle relative to the horizontal plane indicates.
• the inclination sensor 2 is preferably designed in the form of a mechanical inclination switch which emits a digital output signal “on / off” and changes its output signal state when a certain motor vehicle angular position is reached.
• the tilt switch 2 can detect the tilt angle of the motor vehicle either uniaxially in the form of the lateral tilt angle or omnidirectionally in the vehicle plane.
• a trigger circuit (evaluation device) 3 in the form of a microcontroller receives the output signals of the sensors 1, 2 and is in the ready state for activation when the rotational speed measured by the rotation rate sensor 1 reaches a predetermined one
• Threshold value exceeds and / or the output signal of the rotation rate sensor 1 integrated over a certain time interval exceeds a certain threshold value, which in each case signals the risk of a motor vehicle rollover.
• the trigger circuit 3 actually only generates an activation signal if the output signal of the inclination sensor 2 also indicates that the vehicle has reached or exceeded a certain inclination angle.
• the activation signal is applied to one or more ignition circuits 4 which activate the occupant protection system, for example by one or 7 several squibs are ignited.
• the occupant protection system can be a side airbag or curtain airbag system, a belt tensioner system, a belt clamp system, a hinged roll bar or another protection system such as an emergency call system.
• the trigger circuit 3 is designed so that it also checks the time behavior of the output signals of the sensors 1 and 2. If the tilt switch 2 in the longer term, i.e. for more than a certain time interval, e.g. 1 to 10 minutes, an output signal indicating a vehicle tilt is generated, but the rotation rate sensor 1 no longer signals a rotary movement, this is classified by the trigger circuit 3 as a stable tilted vehicle state, for example lateral position or roof position. The trigger circuit 3 then blocks the generation of an activation signal even if the output signal of the rotation rate sensor 1 should increase again. Such a rotary movement is classified as a targeted return movement for returning the motor vehicle to the normal position and the activation of the occupant protection system is thereby blocked to avoid endangering the persons involved in the return movement and / or those still in the vehicle.
• a certain time interval e.g. 1 to 10 minutes
• the device according to the invention can additionally be equipped with electronic and / or mechanical acceleration sensors 5, 6, which detect vehicle accelerations in the vehicle longitudinal direction, transverse direction or in the vertical direction and feed their output signals to the trigger circuit 3.
• electronic and / or mechanical acceleration sensors 5, 6, which detect vehicle accelerations in the vehicle longitudinal direction, transverse direction or in the vertical direction and feed their output signals to the trigger circuit 3.
• the rotation rate sensor and the inclination sensor 2 are integrated in an already existing occupant protection system control unit 3, for example an airbag control unit for the front and / or side airbag.
• the exemplary embodiment of the device according to the invention shown in FIG. 2 is identical to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 with regard to the construction and functioning of components 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 (the latter optional).
• the rotation rate sensor 1, the inclination sensor 2 and the trigger circuit 3 according to FIG. 2 are accommodated in a separate housing and can therefore be retrofitted separately or can be selectively installed in new vehicles.
• the trigger circuit 3 is connected to a central control unit (not shown), in particular an airbag control unit, via a line 7 and transmits an ignition command to the latter when the trigger criteria are met. When the ignition command is received, the central control unit controls the activation of the occupant protection system.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Automotive Seat Belt Assembly (AREA)
• Air Bags (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Related Child Applications (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=7862949

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Cited By (4)

Families Citing this family (28)

Citations (5)

Family Cites Families (13)

• 1998
  • 1998-03-30 DE DE19814154A patent/DE19814154A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 1999
  • 1999-03-26 EP EP99924709A patent/EP1044121B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-03-26 WO PCT/DE1999/000936 patent/WO1999050103A1/de not_active Ceased
  • 1999-03-26 DE DE59900927T patent/DE59900927D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-03-26 JP JP2000541034A patent/JP2002509831A/ja active Pending
• 2000
  • 2000-10-02 US US09/677,560 patent/US6315074B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

Patent Citations (5)

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